I’ve been receiving some criticism on this blog as of late. I had a friend with whom I share a long history tell me that she was not too pleased with the incredibly legal-ish tone of it. She reads everything I write, but doesn’t feel as if she has the ability to respond or comment because its all so serious and out of her league, it is no longer within her reach. I have others who say that I’m really not a legal blogger at all, and should just resign myself to the realm of mommy bloggers since every post doesn’t contain legal headlines or supreme court decisions.
I am brown in a black and white world.
I have a good friend who is African – American. OK, I never call her that. I call her black. We discuss race relations a lot. I get to say stuff that most white people never get to say because I’m brown. But there is a line I can’t cross because I don’t get ALL of it, because I’m not black. There are things I can say to white folks that black people couldn’t. But I can, because I am brown. I am in a unique position to straddle the fence, to cross-cultures, to speak in two voices. This friend, we’ll call her Misty (as fake a name as any, what kind of black girl is named Misty?) frequently asks “whose team are you on today?” I am a racial chameleon. I am on neither team. I just am.
I am in a unique position in the blogosphere as well. I can speak to the moms, I can speak to the non-lawyers – yes, you Jen and Jen and Jenn (you think I’m kidding?) It’s really nice and great and awesome to win the adulation of other lawyers, but all we do is spin our wheels. When the citizenry doesn’t know, when they don’t hear or feel or care, what have we accomplished?
So, I won’t make promises I can’t keep. Dear friend, I am a lawyer, there will be law stuff in this blog. It can’t be helped. I love the law and I love what I do. I will spend time trying to help you understand what it is and why. I will tell you about my trials and tribulations as a mom trying to build a fledgling legal practice, and I hope that anytime you want you feel free to comment on anything at all, with no fear of reprisals. Dear legal reader, law student, or wannabe, you might happen upon notguilty on a day when she is feeling nostalgic, or frustrated. She might be in a mood to talk about her shoes. I suggest, on those days, you click away quickly so as not to feel disappointment. Dear readers, I am not one dimensional, and neither is this blog.
Thank you for this post Mirriam. I too am blogging as a work-at-home mom. It's who I am and I make no bones about it, no matter what color those bones are.
Don't change a thing.
It's not always possible to be all things to all people. Some people have more than one blog. Some people make choices as to what they want to write about. Some people just write and let things play out as they will.
On the internet, you can be black, white or brown, or any other color you prefer for that matter. The point is, it's your choice.
No, you can't be all things to all people and there are going to be days where some folks will be disappointed. But I'm going to use the platform and the voice I do have to get my message across, whatever that is on any given day.
I like the legal stuff and I like the personal stuff. I guess that would make me gray.
And that (you're intent to "use the platform and the voice I do have to get my message across, whatever that is on any given day") is what you've been doing darn well.
As Norm said, "Don't change a thing."
You write well and with passion and heart. And you have things to say.
I've never been able to slog through Middlemarch. I figure that's my problem, not George Eliot's.
Mirriam,
Non-blogging non lawyer putting in my 2 cents. As someone concerned about law in our country, but not directly involved, I try to keep up with current topics.
There are certain sites that cater quite sufficiently to that, but, for the most part they are sooooooo dry.
There are other places I go because I can read up a bit on law related topics, but I can also get a peek into the psyche of the lawyer.
See if you can guess which category you fit into…
(It is probably not much of a coincedence that several of those have already commented on this thread…)
Thank you for doing what you do. If you did it differently, I probably would not like it so much.
Booker
PS – your feed for MyShingle is not updating… I know for a fact that she has posted more recently than 2 weeks ago… 🙂
Speaking of mommy bloggers, do you ever read dadgonemad.com? The author is one of my best friends, and his wife (also a great friend) is my assistant. Read it if you haven't!
keep on keepin' – what i love about your blog is precisely that it's not about one thing The Law or being a mom, or a working mom, or a mom who used to work who thought she should stay home, et al. Cause any of those things, by themselves, is okay to read once in awhile, but I don't look forward to reading any one of those things without some supporting storyline.
what i find most compelling about your writing is that it is from the heart – where it all comes together – the mom, the lawyer, the wife, the daughter, the sister, the friend — where it all comes together is where it starts to get interesting.
BTW, our esteemed Ms M, ESQ, can also ask the Native American (how PC of me – but I am not brown) bartender if he will send her a smoke signal to let her know when her drink is up, and then does the hand-clapping-over-mouth thing that makes the hwah-wah-wah-wah sound…and totally gets away with it. Even charms the bartender.
K – its a privilege of being brown. Booker – thanks for the heads up on MyShingle, I think I fixed it. And thanks for being a non-lawyer non-blogger and keeping up with the insanity!
Mirriam, Add me to the list of supporters for you to "keep doing what you are doing." As a nearly 60-year-old, non-mom, white lawyer, I find ALL your topics interesting (that's 'cause you write well :-)!